DENVER CO - JANUARY 10: Matt Duchene #9 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates his second goal in the first period with teammate Tomas Fleischmann #14 against the Detroit Red Wings at the Pepsi Center on January 10 2011 in Denver Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Red Wings Rally After Rough First Period But Still Fall Short In Loss To Avalanche
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Red Wings Rally After Rough First Period But Still Fall Short In Loss To Avalanche
Live1 Total Update since January 10, 2011
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over 2 years ago Update 0 comments
Red Wings' Comeback Falls Short Against Avalanche In 5-4 Loss
Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Matt Duchene had two goals and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche held on for a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Pepsi Center.
David Jones had a goal and two assists, while Kevin Porter also notched a goal for the Avalanche, who had dropped four of five coming in. Peter Budaj stopped 26 shots in the win.
"We weren't as sharp on the defensive end as we'd like to be, but we got the win and that's all that matters," said Duchene.
Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Jimmy Howard was charged with four goals on 10 shots before being pulled early in the first period.
Joey MacDonald, who was recalled by the team earlier in the day as goaltender Chirs Osgood will miss the next 6-to-8 weeks with a groin injury, finished the game in net and stopped 15-of-16 shots.
"It was a disappointing start," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "We let Howie (Howard) down when we gave up the pucks. We still had every opportunity to win this game and just didn't get it done."
The first period saw six goals wind up in the net and the first one came at the 5:58 mark as Detroit lost control of the puck in front of its own net and Paul Stastny flicked it home from the left side for his 16th goal of the season.
Detroit got the goal back less than a minute later when Drew Miller blasted a shot from the top of the left circle that was stopped and Jan Mursak banged in the rebound for his first NHL goal.
Colorado notched the next three goals to take control of the game.
The first came 8:32 in when Duchene grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, flew down the left wing and slipped the puck past Howard from a sharp angle.
Just under four minutes later, Porter fired a shot on net from the right circle that was going wide, but it hit off the skate of Jonathan Ericsson and went in.
A beautiful 2-on-1 break between Tomas Fleischmann and Duchene was finished when Fleischmann's pass from the left to the right was one-timed in by Duchene with 5:45 to play.
MacDonald took over for Howard in net after the goal and Detroit was able to make it a two-goal game with two minutes left in the first as Brian Rafalski beat Budaj with a wrister from the slot.
Detroit blew a 2-on-1 break as a shot went wide and Colorado transitioned back to the Detroit end. Duchene snapped a pass from the left circle to the front where Jones went to the backhand and lifted it in at the 6:51 mark of the second period.
The Red Wings got one back on the power play with 4:30 to play in the second when Zetterberg tipped in a puck that had been deflected down by Holmstrom to make it a 5-3 contest.
Detroit again went to the power play to make it a one-goal game when Holmstrom scored halfway through the third.
Zetterberg has six goals and 10 assists during an 11-game point streak, which is currently the longest in the NHL...Duchene has four two-goal games this season and has 18 markers on the campaign. He has never notched a hat trick...Colorado is 14-0-0 this season when leading after two periods.
over 2 years ago Update 0 comments
Red Wings Back In Colorado As They Go For Seventh Straight Road Win
(Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings seek a seventh straight road victory this evening, while the Colorado Avalanche hope to salvage the finale of a five-game homestand as the two clubs meet at the Pepsi Center.
Detroit is 6-1-1 over its last eight games and can win a season high-tying fourth straight game tonight as it continues to chase the top spot in the NHL. Vancouver currently holds that honor, but the Red Wings are coming off Saturday's 2-1 shootout victory over the Canucks. Detroit's 59 points on the season are one back of Vancouver in the standings and nine up on Nashville for first place in the Central Division.
Playing without five regulars on Saturday, Jimmy Howard made 34 saves and stopped all three skaters in the shootout for the Red Wings, who got a goal in regulation by Johan Franzen and the only tally of the breakaway session from Jiri Hudler.
Detroit thought it had won the game late in regulation, but Niklas Kronwall's goal was waived off due to contact with the goaltender by Todd Bertuzzi.
"I think it says a lot about the character on our team, the way we're not giving up," Howard said. "We're clawing our way back in games and hanging in there, waiting for our opportunity."
Already without Mike Modano, Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary, defenseman Brad Stuart (broken jaw) and Valtteri Filppula (groin) are the latest sidelined Red Wings. Stuart is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks with his recently-suffered injury.
Also, goaltender Chris Osgood was supposed to start on Saturday, but was unable to go do a nagging groin injury. He has since left the team to see a specialist about the ailment, with Detroit recalling Joey MacDonald to serve as Howard's backup.
Detroit has picked up a victory in each of the first three contests of a five- game road trip and is 14-5-1 as the guest. It will try to avoid its first road loss since Dec. 23 as the Avalanche end a five-game homestand that has produced just a 1-2-1 mark so far.
Colorado has lost seven of its last nine since a six-game winning streak from Dec. 10-19, falling 4-3 in overtime to the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Milan Hejduk and David Koci both scored less than two minutes into the game, and Hejduk later forced overtime with his second goal of the game with just four seconds left in regulation, but Craig Anderson was beaten for the game- winner with 68 ticks left in overtime. He ended with 23 saves in all.
"I feel like we were squeezing the stick a little too much now," Colorado's Milan Hejduk said. "We have to take care of our business at home. We got a point tonight, but sometimes one point isn't enough."
The Avs, who have lost six of their last seven at home, are 12 points back of the first-place Canucks in the Northwest Division and seventh overall in the conference.
Tonight is the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the teams this year, with the Red Wings winning the last two. That includes a 4-3 overtime victory at Colorado in the last meeting on Nov. 27, Detroit's fourth victory in the last five matchups overall and fifth in the last seven played at Pepsi Center.
Osgood recorded his 400th victory in that December matchup, while Howard is 3-1-1 with a 2.17 goals-against average against the Avs.
Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg has five goals and nine assists over a 10-game point streak, but has been limited to a mere three assists without a goal in his last nine versus Detroit.
Franzen has three goals and an assist in the four meetings this year, while three of Hudler's 12 points on the year have come versus the Avs, including two of his three goals.
Peter Budaj has started all three games versus the Red Wings, posting a 3.54 GAA, and will get the call again tonight. Lifetime versus the Detroit, Budaj is 4-4-2 with a 3.02 GAA.
